Navigating through SPASE to heliospheric and magnetospheric data

Virtual observatories have been introduced by the astrophysics community as an environment connecting distributed data sources with a unified interface. The heliophysics community soon recognized that they faced a similar problem of many distributed data sets with varying amount of information about them and several discipline specific virtual observatories have been established. Two of them, the virtual heliospheric observatory (VHO) and the virtual magnetospheric observatory (VMO), share a common architecture design with development efforts oriented towards a structured data search. This paper describes the VHO/VMO middleware and its components from metadata preparation and processing to the user interface.     

中国岩石圈三维结构数据库总库管理系统

中国岩石圈三维结构数据库总库管理系统是中国岩石圈三维结构数据库的管理和服务中心。在中国岩石圈三维结构数据库需求分析基础上,完成了系统总体设计,制订各项技术标准;开发设计一个元数据编辑器和元数据浏览器;应用统一建模语言UML设计和优化了数据库结构;采用ESRI公司Geodatabase的数据模型,利用计算机辅助设计CASE工具设计中国岩石圈三维结构数据库。在ArcObjects和MapObjects的基础上,分别建立了功能齐全、操作简便的两套组件式总库管理系统,分别适合专业和非地理信息系统专业人员。     

Case-based system for slope design

A key part of slope design is the review of past examples of slopes in similar ground conditions. This paper details the development of the SlopeSafe computer program which uses case-based reasoning to formalise this process. The program, written in Visual Basic, draws on a case-base of nearly 3000 case histories of successful and failed slopes to give an indication of the likely success of a proposed slope by matching its geometry and ground conditions to the slopes held in the case-base. XML (Extensible Markup Language) has been used to store the data and a specific set of tags has been defined to provide a standard way of storing slope information. The system has been identified by practising engineers as having the potential to be a very useful design tool.     

Organizing earth observation data inside a spatial data infrastructure

Scientists as well public institutions dealing with geospatial data often work with a large amount of heterogeneous data deriving from different sources. Without a well-defined, organized structure they face problems in finding and reusing existing data, and as consequence this may cause data inconsistency and storage problems. A catalog system based on the metadata of spatial data facilitates the management of large amount of data and offers service to retrieve, discover and exchange geographic data in an quick and easy fashion. Currently, most online catalogs are more focusing on the geographic data and there has been only few interests in catalogizing Earth observation data, in which in addition the acquisition information matters. This article presents an automatic metadata extraction approach that creates from different optical data deriving from various satellite missions of scientific interest (i.e. MODIS, LANDSAT, RapidEye, Suomi-NPP VIIRS, Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-2A) metadata information, based on an extended model of the standard ISO 19115. The XML schema ISO 19139-2 with the support of gridded and imagery information defined in ISO 19115-2 was examined, and based on the requirements of experts working in the research field of Earth observation the schema was extended. The XML schema ISO 19139-2 and its extension has been deployed as a new schema plugin in the spatial catalog Geonetwork Open Source in order to store all relevant metadata information about satellite data and the appropriate acquisition and processing information in an online catalog. A real-world scenario that is productively used in the EURAC research group institute for Applied Remote Sensing illustrates a workflow management for Earth observation data including data processing, metadata extraction, generation and distribution.     

A case of man-induced ground subsidence and building settlement related to karstified gypsum (Oviedo,NW Spain)

Within the TERENO initiative, four terrestrial observatories, collecting huge amounts of environmental data, are being set up since 2008. To manage, describe, exchange and publish these data, the distributed Spatial Data Infrastructure TEODOOR (http://www.tereno.net) was created. Each institution responsible for an individual observatory sets up its own local data infrastructure, which may communicate with each other to exchange data and metadata internally or to the public by OGC compliant Web services. The TEODOOR data portal serves as a database node to provide scientists and decision makers with reliable and well-accessible data and data products. Various tools like hierarchical search or Web-GIS functions allow a deeper insight into the different observatories, test sites and sensor networks. Sensor data can be queried and selected for measured parameters, stations and/or time periods, and can be visualized and downloaded according to a shared TERENO data policy. Currently, TEODOOR provides free access to data from more than 500 monitoring stations.     

地质元数据共享平台构架

长期以来,各地质勘探部门积累了大量地质数据,为了有效管理和共享这些信息,需建立数据共享平台。探讨了地理元数据的现状和地理元数据共享存在的问题,以及用XML文件存储和关系数据库存储的优缺点等问题;提出用XML与数据库技术相结合的方式构建地质元数据,解决地质数据共享问题,并以此为基础构建了用于管理、使用和发布地质数据的共享平台。     

Geomagnetic induction responses of anisotropic conducting mantle

Phase change of dielectric magnesiowustite in the lower mantle may leave signatures in geomagnetic records of the globally distributed array of observatories. The related features appear in EM induction responses of lower mantle, which are studied theoretically. The surface EM field corresponding to a response of the earth with conductivity anisotropy in a mantle spherical layer is presented as the sum of the magnetic and electric modes. Equations for the fields of both modes and their relationship in a weakly anisotropic earth are obtained by the perturbation method. The two field modes are analyzed jointly and separately to characterize the conductivity tensor of the anisotropic lower mantle. The tensor elements corresponding to the tangential components of the field can be estimated from the magnetic mode alone recorded currently by the global network of geomagnetic observatories. For the tensor data to be complete, observatory data on lateral variations of the electric field are required in addition to three-component geomagnetic records.     

Lateral variations of the mid-mantle conductance beneath Europe

Europe is a region with the largest density of geomagnetic observatories and several authors have used these data to estimate local geomagnetic response functions for various period ranges, typically of the width of 1.5 to 2.5 decades. By collecting the local response functions from 35 European observatories, and by their precise selection and subsequent combination, the independent regional geomagnetic induction data set could be extended to a period range of 4.5 decades. The initial local responses that were estimated by two magnetovariation methods, with two different external source fields employed, have been further supplemented by continental and global 11-year data, providing thus a data set extending over a period range from the harmonics of the daily variations up to 11 years. The combined responses have been inverted individually for each observatory by two techniques, by an Occam procedure and a stochastic 1D inversion for spherically symmetric Earth. The integrated mantle conductance has revealed rather regular lateral changes that have been used to design a mantle conductance image down to a depth of about 770 km. The presented conductance image can be correlated with major European tectonic units like the Baltic Shield and the Trans-European Suture Zone.To examine possible distortions to the inferred mantle conductance models due to large-scale near-surface heterogeneities, specifically those caused by the oceans, seas and large sedimentary basins, a spherical forward modeling was carried out for a radially symmetric conductor coated by an inhomogeneous thin shell with the variable surface conductance. The model responses for the 35 observatory positions were inverted in the same way as previously the experimental data. The results for 28 observatories have shown that the depth down to a pre-defined conductance level could be retrieved with a high accuracy of a few percents, but for seven southernmost observatories the recovery error increased up to 9%. With these seven observatories removed from the analysis, the effect of the seas and oceans on the upper and mid-mantle conductance estimates beneath Europe can be considered negligible.     

地学G4 I 系统中空间元数据的设计技术

地学G4 I 系统是以四学科( 地质学、地理学、地球化学及地球物理学) 地学数据集成为基础,以中大比例尺矿产资源评价为服务目标的计算机系统。由于跨学科地学空间数据集成涉及到众多技术,其中空间元数据的内容与应用构成本系统的重要组成部分。笔者就元数据的概念及元数据在本系统中的具体内容、作用、标准及研究现状等进行探讨,并针对本系统提出元数据管理子系统的设计框架。     

基于XML的岩芯信息元数据标准研究与实践

目前岩芯信息表述尚没有统一的格式,严重阻碍了岩芯信息资源的利用,造成了资源浪费。为提高岩芯信息利用率,方便用户和其他软件共享岩芯信息,必须规范其组织、存储和交换数据格式,并提供相应的技术实现手段通过软件自动保存、解析岩芯信息。文章参照国内外相关资料及技术标准,创建了岩芯信息元数据标准,应用XML技术生成与元数据标准对应的XSD文件,并在应用程序中成功使用,当用户交互岩芯信息时,生成符合XSD格式要求的XML数据文件传送信息,不同用户可以正确解析岩芯信息。通过应用岩芯信息元数据标准,规范了数字化岩芯信息组织、存储和交换,采用XML技术由软件自动实现,大大提高了用户工作效率,方便了岩芯信息的共享,充分发挥了岩芯信息的价值。     

Possible contribution of lower mantle magnesiowüstite metallization into geomagnetic data

Phase change of dielectric magnesiowüstite in the lower mantle may leave signatures in geomagnetic records of the globally distributed array of observatories. We investigate theoretically which may be the contribution of magnesiowüstite metallization to geomagnetic data and how the variations of magnetic susceptibility associated with this phase change may influence the Earth's field. The modeling is performed using spherical harmonic analysis (SHA) of mantle electromagnetic (EM) responses in observatory geomagnetic data at periods of decades, 11 years, 1 year, and 27 days. The existence of a lower mantle conductor is checked against monthly means of real observatory records from 1920 through 2009 obtained by preliminary processing.     

A brave new (virtual) world: distributed searches, relevance scoring and facets

Our ability to deal with complex systems has improved through information system research which includes improved modeling (both data and system), the use of semantics and advances in distributed computing. The past decade has seen an explosion in the amount and variety of geosciences data and the emergence of true open data repositories through which scientists can freely access this data. Those data are found in thousands of repositories located around the world. Virtual observatories have been created to address the challenge of helping scientists search those repositories to find and access the required data. This challenge is been addressed by using technologies such as the Internet (with ample connectivity and bandwidth), the Web, cheap computing power, cheap storage and standards for critical components. Many scientific disciplines are developing virtual observatories. Yet some of the most compelling science questions cross multiple domains. While semantics can provide cross domain reasoning, often the first step in answering a question is determining what resources are available which may be relevant to a topic. The topic can be expressed as simple phrases or word sequences. Using a common relevance scoring method at all locations can enable a federated search across loosely coupled providers. The results of which can be organized into facets to aid the user in selecting the most promising resources with which to pursue the scientific investigation. We describe an approach to developing and deploying relevance scoring methods and faceted results in this brave new (virtual) world. We have found that a scoring method which considers both the presence of terms and the proximity of these terms relative to the order of the terms in the query improves the assessment of relevance. We call this Term Presence-Proximity (TPP) scoring and describe a method for calculating a normalized score. TPP scoring compares favorably with other scoring approaches.     

Japanese national program on earthquake prediction

Earthquake prediction studies in Japan have made progress since a national program was officially launched in 1965. A sum of 18 million dollars has been allocated for the program in addition to expenses for salaries, construction of observatories and other supporting routines. As a result, 17 crustal deformation observatories, 19 microearthquake observatories and 1 magnetic observatory, all equipped with modern instruments have been completed. It has also become possible to repeat the first-order levelling surveys along levelling routes of 20,000 km in length with an interval of five years.The program has been tested during the 1965—1966 Matsushiro activity of swarm earthquakes. Judging from the fact that long-term predictions could be issued to the public from time to time during the active period, the program would seem to be directed in the right direction. An anomalous land deformation has been found in an area south of Tokyo in 1969. An operation to investigate the anomaly has been carried out intensively over the area concerned with special emphasis on detecting the possibilities of a large earthquake occurring there.Intensification of the program orientated towards actual prediction is now under consideration. A more extensive program including a nation-wide network of geodimeter surveys, real-time monitoring of microearthquakes, real-time observations by oceanbottom seismographs and other disciplines is going to be planned.     

基于元数据的信息共享机制研究

元数据作为关于数据的数据,是目前信息共享的关键技术,也是当前研究的热点。在对比国际、国内元数据标准的基础上,采用元数据管理的三个层次:元数据子集、元数据实体和元数据元素,建立了“数字成都”元数据标准模板。它主要包括:标识信息、数据质量信息、空间参考信息、数据集的内容信息、分发信息、元数据参考信息。讨论了“数字成都”中基于元数据信息共享系统的结构、模块和特点,实现了分布式数据组织与管理、分布式数据共享、分布式数据快速索引机制以及跨平台数据访问。     

The Russian Virtual Observatory project

We describe the Russian Virtual Observatory (RVO), a prestigious international project sponsored by the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). In 2001, the RAS Scientific Council on Astronomy included this project in a list of the most important international projects of the RAS. Its main goal to create and develop the RVO, intended to provide Russian astronomers with direct and effective access to worldwide astronomical data resources. The RVO is one component of the International Virtual Observatory (IVO), a system in which vast astronomical archives and databases around the world, together with analysis tools and computational services, are linked together into an integrated facility. The IVO unites all important national and international projects to create virtual observatories, coordinated by the International Virtual Observatory Alliance. The RVO is one of the organizers and an important participant of the IVO Alliance.     

基于录井标记语言的录井资料管理信息系统

针对常规数据库系统无法层级式存储录井资料、异构数据源间无法共享录井资料的问题,基于XML标准提出了录井标记语言-LogML(Logging Markup Language),并应用LogML作为录井资料的存储载体,自主开发出具有层级式存储、管理、共享、分析和可视化功能的录井资料管理信息系统一XMISL(XML Management Information System for Logging Data),为录井资料的网络化管理提供了切实可行的方案.     

面向水文数据共享的水文核心元数据模型研究及应用

研究了目前水文及相关元数据的研究和发展情况,分析了水文数据及元数据的特点,在此基础上研究设计了符合水文数据共享需求,同时具有简洁、适用性强的水文核心元数据模型。提出的水文核心元数据模型在水文水资源科学数据共享中得到了应用,并取得了较好的应用效果。     

高放废物地质处置元数据设计与编辑模块开发

在对元数据的含义、作用、组成及对高放领域研究的数据内容和特点分析的基础上,对元数据编辑模块的设计进行了详细描述,并在VS2005平台下应用C#语言进行了模块的实际开发,最终实现了便于进行数据共享的XML格式存储功能。元数据编辑模块的应用将促进我国高放废物地质处置信息化工作的进一步深入。     

Scientific problems addressed by the Spektr-UV space project (world space Observatory—Ultraviolet)

The article presents a review of scientific problems and methods of ultraviolet astronomy, focusing on perspective scientific problems (directions) whose solution requires UV space observatories. These include reionization and the history of star formation in the Universe, searches for dark baryonic matter, physical and chemical processes in the interstellar medium and protoplanetary disks, the physics of accretion and outflows in astrophysical objects, from Active Galactic Nuclei to close binary stars, stellar activity (for both low-mass and high-mass stars), and processes occurring in the atmospheres of both planets in the solar system and exoplanets. Technological progress in UV astronomy achieved in recent years is also considered. The well advanced, international, Russian-led Spektr-UV (World Space Observatory—Ultraviolet) project is described in more detail. This project is directed at creating a major space observatory operational in the ultraviolet (115–310 nm). This observatory will provide an effective, and possibly the only, powerful means of observing in this spectral range over the next ten years, and will be an powerful tool for resolving many topical scientific problems.